Brush making machine and method



Nov. 13, 1956 J. G. BAUMGARTNER 2,770,079

BRUSH MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed July 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

J 2 z z Nov. 13, 1956 J. G. BAUMGARTNER BRUSH MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 14, 195

075 I INVENTOR. Q 27;, fiauflga/ezzedv Nov. 13, 1956 J, G. BAUMGARTNER 2,770,079

BRUSH MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed July 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR.

v I I United States Patent BRUSH MAKING MACHINE AND METHOD John G. Baumgartner, Aurora, Ill.

Application July 14, 1954, Serial No. 443,360

15 Claims. (Cl. 51-74) This invention relates to the manufacture of brushes, and more particularly to a machine for grinding synthetic bristles of small brushes to taper the ends thereof.

My Patent No. 2,55 8,334 discloses a brush of this type for applying lacquer such as fingernail polish wherein the synthetic bristles are ground so that smoother application of lacquer or the like is provided thereby. Such a finishing or grinding operation is essential since synthetic bristles tend to mushroom at the ends where cut, and lacquer will not flow smoothly from the ends of the bristles unless they are tapered.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 74,106, filed February 2, 1949, now Patent No. 2,685,477, there are disclosed and claimed the brush making machine and method for manufacturing brushes having synthetic bristles which are ground so that the ends are of a tapered, generally conical configuration. This application is directed to a further embodiment of the brush making machine wherein different structures are provided for feeding the brushes in the machine to various work positions and for holding the bristles so that they may be ground by movable grinding means.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine for the production of small inexpensive brushes having synthetic bristles which is of relatively simple construction and which operates automatically to provide brushes of high quality.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for momentarily and repeatedly grinding the ends of synthetic bristles in a bristle tuft so that the bristles are substantially uniformly tapered.

A feature of the invention is the'provision of a brush making machine wherein the bristles of brushes are held against a moving grinding device, in which a stream of air is momentarily directed on the bristle tuft to compress the same and spread the bristles in a fanlike shape on the grinding device.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a brush making machine including bristle grinding apparatus, wherein a plurality of brushes are fed from one grinding position to another by a feeding device including oscillating fingers which contact the brush handles and move the same both laterally and rotarily, so that the bristle tuft of each brush engages the grinding means in a plurality of different positions. By grinding the bristles for a brief interval when the tuft is in each of a plurality of different positions, effective tapering of a large portion of the bristles in a tuft can be accomplished.

Further objects, features and the attending advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a brush making machine in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view which shows the position of the brushes with respect to the movable grinding devices;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines of 3--3 shown on Figs. 1 and 2;

Patented Nov. 13, 1956 Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the feeding device; and

Fig. 5 shows a plurality of positions of the feeding device illustrating the operation thereof.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a machine for manufacturing small brushes, each having a tuft of synthetic bristles secured to a handle, with the individual bristles extending from the handle. The brushes so formed are fed to a machine for grinding the ends of the bristles which machine includes movable grinding means such as a rotatable grinding wheel, grinding belt, or the like. The brushes may be fed onto a supporting shelf and are then fed along the shelf from one position to the next, with the brushes at the various positions having the bristles thereof ground simultaneously.

Movement of the brushes is provided by a feeding bar having fingers extending therebelow, with a circular oscillating motion being imparted to the bar so that the fingers move downwardly into positions between the brushes, move the brushes along, with the fingers then moving upwardly to positions above the brushes and backwardly to the original positions. The brushes are loosely held by a pressure bar as they move along from one position to the next, and during the movement tend to turn so that the bristle tuft engages the grinding means in a somewhat different position at each different grinding station. To provide better grinding action the bristle tufts are spread into a fan shaped pattern at the point of contact with the grinding means. This is accomplished by directing a stream of air on the tufts to compress the same and thereby spreading out the bristles in the tuft on the grinding means. A rest may be provided which the tufts engage at a point between the brush handle and the bristle ends, with the air pressure being applied to the sides of the tufts opposite to the sides on the rest to effectively spread the bristles therein. The air stream is applied only momentarily as each brush is at each of the positions.

Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. 1 there is illustrated a brush making machine wherein handles for small brushes made of plastic or the like are fed from a hopper 10 down through a slide 11 to a rotating assembly disc 12 into which the handles are individually positioned. To facilitate the movement of the handles, heads may be formed thereon which are thereafter severed from the handles as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 221,651, filed April 18, 1951. A slide 15 holds bristles for the brushes which are inserted in the handles in one position of the assembly disc 12. The disc 12 feeds the brushes 14 including handles and bristles after being assembled onto a supporting shelf or ledge 16 best shown in Figs. 2 to 5.

The brushes 14 are held in position on the shelf 16 by a loose pressure bar 17 and the back ends thereof are aligned by the back rail or stop 18. The brushes are fed along on the shelf beneath the bar 17 by a feeding mechanism including the oscillating bar 19 having fingers 20 extending downwardly therefrom. As the brushes are fed along the shelf through the various positions, the ends of the bristles thereof are ground on moving grinding means 21 and 22. These may be grinding wheels or bands which are rotated or otherwise moved with respect to the brushes. For holding the ends of the bristles against the movable grinding means so that the bristles are spread out and a plurality of bristles are ground on the grinding means, a bristle rest 24 is provided under the bristles having nozzles 26 formed therein for directing air on the topside of the individual bristle tufts. This acts to compress the tufts so that the ends 0 of the bristles thereof spread out in a fan shaped pattern at the point of engagement thereof with the grinding means.

It has been found that for satisfactory grinding of synthetic bristles so that they are uniformly tapered and thereby provide the desired action in spreading lacquer or the like, it is necessary to grind the bristles for a very brief interval so that the bristles are not unduly heated thereby. To grind substantially all the bristles, it is necessary to repeat this operation for a relatively large number of times. In practice from 40 to 100 grinding operations may be provided for a small brush such as used for lacquer applied to fingernails. Turning movement of the brushes is desired so that different bristles are held in engagement with the grinding means at the different positions. Therefore, after a large number of brief grinding operations, substantially all of the bristles will be ground in a substantially uniform manner.

Considering now the structure for moving the brushes from one position to another, particular reference is made to Figs. 4 and 5. It is noted that the oscillating bar 19 is mounted on pins 30 which are eccentrically mounted on drive wheels 31. Accordingly as the drive wheels 31 are rotated, an oscillatory movement will be imparted to the bar 18 as shown by the dotted circle at the right side of Figs. 4 and 5. Various positions of the bar are illustrated in Fig. 5 with the solid position showing the bar and fingers extending therefrom in the position farthest to the right. As the pins follow their circular path, the bar 18 will move downward and to the left as shown by the dot-dash lines with the fingers taking the positions indicated 20a. This will cause the brushes 14 to move to the left to the position designated 14a. As the rod 30 continues its clockwise movement, the bar 18 will be moved further to the left and raised and the brushes 14 will also move still further to the left. Further clockwise movement of the rod 30 will cause the bar to move upwardly to the dotted position in which the fingers are in positions above the brushes as indicated at 20!). It will be obvious that this permits the fingers to move backwardly (to the right) without moving the brushes to the right, with the fingers moving to the original solid line positions to engage the next brush to the right. This causes the brushes to move in steps to the left as the bar 18 oscillates.

As previously stated, it is desired that the brushes rotate somewhat as they move from one position to the next so that different bristles will be presented to the movable grinding means. The sliding movement of the brush handles on the shelf 16 and below the pressure bar 17, together with the vertical movement of the fingers 20 against the brush handles causes a turning movement so that the brushes will be rotated as they are slid along the shelf from one position to the next. Accordingly, a different angular portion of the bristle tuft will be held against the grinding means at each grinding position.

Considering now the overall operation of the machine, as the disc 12 moves from one step to another to carry the brush from one assembly position to the next, the oscillatory bar 18 also moves to carry the brushes which have been placed on the shelf from one position to the next. The brushes are allowed to come to rest in positions wherein the tuft is immediately below a nozzle 26 in the airduct structure 25. When the brushes are in this position, air is applied through the nozzles to spread the bristle tufts and apply the same to the grinding means to provide a momentary grinding action. The air supply may be allowed to remain on continuously so that the bristle tufts are spread thereby when they reach the grinding positions. During movement from one position to the next, the tufts are moved away from the nozzles and the air pressure is then not effective. It may be desired to turn the air supply on only when the tuft is in a grinding position and then cut it off as the feeding means goes through another operation to move all the brushes to the next position for the next grinding operation. For such action, the air supply may be con- 4 trolled by a valve 27 (Fig. 2) which is connected to the overall control system of the machine so that the air streams are applied at the desired times.

It has been found that in a machine for operating with brushes having handles of a length of 2", having bristles of a diameter of .0025 and with the bristle tufts extending from the handles for a length of /2", satisfactory operation may be provided by the use of air jets positioned approximately /a of an inch above the bristle tuft. The air jets may have openings of the order of .040" to .050", and air pressure of the order of 80 to pounds may be used. Grinding means may be rotated at a very high speed providing a surface speed of the order of 10,000 feet per minute. The individual grinding positions may be spaced approximately one-half inch apart and at least 40 different grinding positions should be provided in order that uniform tapering of all the bristles is provided. The machine may be operated to provide about 90 cycles per minute, with the bristles being held in grinding position about one-half the duration of each cycle, and being moved from one position to the next the remaining time.

It is apparent from the above that a very simple mechanism is provided for handling brushes while the bristles thereof are tapered. A single oscillating member provides both the lateral movement from one position to the next as well as a turning of the brush to present different bristles to the grinding means. Spreading of the bristles is provided by air pressure so that no moving parts are required for this operation. The bristles can be fanned out very effectively by the air pressure, and the pressure of the engagement of the bristles on the grinding means can be accurately controlled by the design of the nozzles and the air pressure used. The movement of the feeding bar as well as the application of air pressure may be coordinated with the other operations in the brush making process through any known timing structure, such as a cam structure, to provide a completely coordinated machine. The completed brnshes having tapered bristles may then be discharged from the end of the machine for packing or further processes.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been described which is illustrative thereof, it is obvious that various changes and modifications can be made within the intended scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims,

I claim:

1. Apparatus for finishing the end portions of the bristles of a brush by grinding the same, which bristles are provided as a single compact tuft extending from the brush handle with the bristles being thin and individually yieldable over the length thereof, said apparatus including in combination, moving grinding means, brush handling means for retaining a brush in a position with the bristles thereof extending toward the grinding means, a bristle rest so constructed and so positioned relative to said brush handling means that a bristle tuft of a retained brush will engage said bristle rest on one side of said tuft intermediate the brush handle and the ends of the bristles, air supply means for directing a jet of air on the other side of the bristle tuft on said bristle rest to spread out the end portions of bristles and momentarily apply'bristleend-portions to the moving grinding means in a fanwise pattern so that a substantial number of the bristle-endportions in the tuft are presented to the grinding means for grinding, said brush handling means operating to turn a brush retained thereby to present other bristles to the grinding means, and means in the apparatus cooperating with said brush handling means and said air supply means for interruptedly and repeatedly operating said two latter means to momentarily present in the fanwise pattern different parts-of the bristle tuft to said moving grinding means for grinding bristle-end-portions into a tapered configuration.

2. In a machine for producing brushes which have a single compact tuft of bristles extending from a handle with the bristles being thin and individually yieldable over the length thereof, apparatus for finishing the end portions of the bristles by grinding the same, said apparatus including in combination, moving grinding means, brush handling means for retaining a brush in a position with the bristles thereof extending toward the grinding means, air supply means for directing a jet of air on one side of the bristle tuft intermediate the brush handle and the ends of the bristles to spread out the end portions of bristles and momentarily apply bristle-end-portions to the moving grinding means in a fanwise pattern so that a substantial number of the bristle-end-portions in the tuft are presented to the grinding means for grinding, said brush handling means operating to turn a brush retained thereby to present other bristles to the grinding means, and means in the apparatus cooperating with said brush handling means and said air supply means for interruptedly and repeatedly operating said two latter means to momentarily present in the fanwise pattern different parts of the bristle tuft to said moving grinding means for grinding bristle-end-portions into a tapered configuration.

3. in a machine for producing a plurality of brushes each having a tuft of bristles yieldable over their length and extending from a handle, which machine includes movable grinding means for finishing the end portions of the bristles, the combination including means for supporting a plurality of brushes simultaneously with the,

bristles of each extending toward the grinding means, and controllable means adapted to repeatedly and interruptedly spread out and apply the end portions of the bristles against the movable grinding means in a fanwise pattern for only a brief interval at each time of applying with the movable grinding means adapted to grind bristleend-portions into tapered configurations, said controllable means including a machine portion against which tufts of the plurality of brushes engage and with such machine portion positioned relatively to the movable grinding means such that the engagement will occur at a point between the brush handles and the bristle ends thereof, and air supply means including a plurality of jets acting on the sides of all of the plurality of bristle tufts opposite to the sides at the machine portion to simultaneously compress and spread in the fanwise pattern the ends of the bristle tufts so that end portions of more bristles can be ground on the movable grinding means than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

4. In a machine for producing a plurality of brushes each having a tuft of bristles yieldable over their length and extending from a handle, which machine includes movable grinding means for finishing the end portions of the bristles, the combination including means for supporting a plurality of brushes simultaneously with the bristles of each extending toward the grinding means, and controllable means adapted to repeatedly and interruptedly spread out and apply the end portions of the bristles against the movable grinding means in a fanwise pattern for only a brief interval at each time of applying with the movable grinding means adapted to grind the spread bristle-end-portions into tapered configurations, said controllable means including air supply means providing a plurality of jets of air which act on at least one side of all of the plurality of bristle tufts to simultaneously compress and spread in the fanwise pattern the ends of the bristle tufts so that end portions of more bristles can be ground on the movable grinding means than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

5. In a machine for producing a plurality of brushes each having a tuft of bristles yieldable over their length and extending from a handle, which machine includes movable grinding means for finishing the end portions of the bristles, the combination including, brush handling means for supporting a plurality of brushes in a plurality of positions simultaneously with the bristles of each ex* tending toward the grinding means, said brush handling able grinding means in a fanwise pattern for only a brief,

interval at each time of applying with the movable grinding means adapted to grind bristle-end-portions.into tapered configurations, said controllable means including a. machine portion against which tufts of the plurality of brushes engage and with such machine portion positioned relative to the movable grinding means such that the engagement will occur at a point between the brush handles and the bristle ends thereof, and air supply means including a plurality of jets acting on the sides of all of 'the plurality of bristle tufts opposite to the sides at the ma: chine portion to simultaneously compress and spread in the fanwise pattern the ends of the bristle tufts so that end portions of more bristles can be ground on the movable grinding means than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

6. In a machine for producing a plurality of brushes.

each having a tuft of bristles yieldable over their length and extending from a handle, which machine includes movable grinding means for finishing the end portions of the bristles, the combination including, brush handling means for supporting a plurality of brushes in a plurality of positions simultaneously with the bristles of each extending toward the grinding means, said brush handling means including a stationary member for supporting the brushes and an oscillating member having finger portions extending therefrom, means for moving said oscillating member so that each finger portion moves in a circular path and en-. gages a brush on said stationary member at one position, moves the brush from said one position to the next position, then moves clear of the brush and completes, the cycle to engage the next brush at said one position, and controllable means adapted to repeatedly and interruptedly spread out and apply the end portions of the bristles means including a machine portion against which tufts of v the plurality of brushes engage and with such machine portion positioned relative to the movable grinding means such that the engagement will occur at a point between the brush handles and the bristle ends thereof, and means acting on the sides of all of the pluralityof bristle tufts opposite to the sides at the machine portion to simultaneously compress and spread in the fanwise pattern the ends of the bristle tufts so that end portions of more bristles can be ground on the movable grinding means than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

7. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, supporting means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said supporting means including a stationary member for supporting the brushes and an oscillating member having finger portions extending therefrom, means for moving said oscillating member so that each finger portion moves in a circular path and engages a brush on said stationary member at position to the next and turning the same to repeatedly.

apply the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, a bristle rest for contacting the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions on one side thereof, intermediate a brush handle and the ends of the bristles, and means acting on theother side of the bristle tufts on the bristle rest to fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so that the ends of the bristles are ground into a generally conical configuration.

8. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, brush handling means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said brush handling means including oscillating finger portions for moving the brushes from one position to the next and for turning the same to repeatedly apply the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, a bristle rest for contacting the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions on one side thereof intermediate a brush handle and the ends of the bristles, and means providing a stream of air on the other side of the bristle tufts on the bristle rest to fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so that the ends of substantially all of the bristles are ground into a generally conical configuration.

9. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, brush handling means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said brush handling means including oscillating finger portions for moving the brushes from one position to the next and for turning the same to repeatedly apply the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, and means providing a stream of air on the bristle tuft to fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so that the ends of sub stantially all of the bristles are ground into a generally conical configuration.

10. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, brush handling means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said brush handling means including portions for moving the brushes from one position to the next to repeatedly apply the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, a bristle rest for contacting the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions on one side thereof intermediate a brush handle and the ends of the bristles, and means providing a stream of air on the other side of the bristle tufts on the bristle rest to fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so that the ends of substantially all of the bristles are ground into a generally conical configuration.

11. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, supporting means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said supporting means including portions for repeatedly applying the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, a bristle rest for contacting the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions on one side thereof intermediate a brush handle and the ends of the bristles, and means providing a stream of air on the other side of the bristle tufts on the bristle rest to fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so

.12. In the manufacture of a brush having a tuft of bristles extending from a handle therefor which bristles are each readily yieldable over the length thereof, the method of tapering outer end portions of bristles in the tuft which comprises the steps of presenting a brush to moving grinding means with the bristles in the tuft extending toward the grinding means, momentarily directing a jet of air on the bristle tuft at a position between the handle and the outer ends of the bristles so that the tuft is flattened out to cause the outer bristle-end-portions to spread fanwise, grinding outer bristle-end-portions spread fanwise on the grinding means, turning the brush handle to present other outer bristle-end-portions in the tuft to the grinding means, again momentarily directing a jet of air on the bristle tuft for again spreading the outer bristle-end-portions fanwise, grinding other outer bristle-end-portions, and repeating the steps of flattening, of grinding, and of turning, for the purpose of grinding to a tapered configuration outer end portions of bristles in the tuft.

13. In the manufacture of a brush having a tuft of bristles extending from a handle therefor which bristles are each readily yieldable over the length thereof, the

method of tapering outer end portions of bristles in the tuft which comprises the steps of simultaneously presenting a plurality of brushes at different positions along moving grinding means with the bristle tufts extending toward the grinding means, momentarily directing jets of air on the bristle tufts at positions thereon between the handle and the outer ends of the bristles so that the tufts are flattened out to cause the outer bristle-end-portions to spread fanwise on the grinding means, grinding outer bristle-end-portions spread fanwise on the grinding means, moving the brushes from one position to the next and turning the brush handles to present other outer bristle-end-portions in the tufts to the grinding means, again momentarily directing jets of air on the bristle tufts for again spreading the outer bristle-end-portions fanwise, grinding other outer bristle-end-portions, and repeating the steps of flattening, of grinding, and of moving, for the purpose of grinding to a tapered configuration outer end portions of bristles in the tuft.

14. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, brush handling means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said brush handling means including portions for moving the brushes from one position to the next to repeatedly apply the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, a bristle rest for contacting the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions on one side thereof intermediate a brush handle and the ends of the bristles, and air supply means including a plurality of nozzles aligned with said positions for directing streams of air on the other side of the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions to spread the tufts of bristles on the bristle rest and fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so that the ends of more bristles are ground than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

15. Apparatus for grinding the ends of the bristles of a brush, which bristles are provided as a tuft secured to a handle and extending therefrom, said apparatus including in combination, movable grinding means, brush handling means for holding a plurality of brushes individually in a plurality of positions with the bristles of each brush extending toward said grinding means, said brush handling means including portions for moving the brushes from one position to the next to repeatedly apply the ends of the bristles of the brushes against the moving grinding means, and air supply means including a plurality of nozzles aligned with said positions for directing streams of air on the bristle tufts of brushes in said positions to spread the tufts and fan out the ends of the bristles applied to the moving grinding means, so that the ends of more bristles are ground than would be ground without so spreading the bristle tufts.

Re. 19,799 Elliot Dec. 31, 1935 10 Dayton Nov. 14, 1876 Ashworth July 25, 1882 Decker Aug. 22, 1882 Beers Apr. 6, 1886 Beers Jan. 26, 1897 Izawa May 27, 1924 Izawa May 10, 1927 Cunningham Dec. 19, 1944 Baumgartner Aug.' 3, 1954 

